PLOT

The plot of a story is a series of events that describe what kind of things are happening and why. Plot is very important to the story as it has to make sense and be believable to its audience. It does not have to be realistic but the plot has to make sense. The plot usually goes through five main stages to develop: the exposition, the rising action, the climax, the falling action, and denouement. The exposition introduces all the necessary elements of the story such as the characters and setting. The rising action is the build up of events eventually leading to conflict. The climax is the peak of the story in which the action and emotion reaches their highest point. The falling action is the point where the conflict begins to be resolved. Finally, the denouement is when the conflict has been resolved and the story ends.

An example of plot is Pride and Prejudice. The novel begins by introducing the characters and setting the atmosphere for the rest of the story while beginning to create some early conflicts. This all builds to the climax which, I believe, is when Darcy proposes to Elizabeth for the first time because this creates the biggest conflict in the story between Elizabeth and Darcy and Elizabeth and herself. The falling action and denouement occur as Elizabeth begins to love Darcy which eventually ends in their marriage. Another example of plot is Death of a Salesman. Although the story is hard to follow because it is a collection of events from the past, it still follows the guidelines of plot. The climax being when Biff makes his father realize that they are both failures in the American dream.